Life Success Series (part 4 in a series of 8)

posted by: Mr. Graber

Every two weeks I will be posting a section from this article here on Inside Bodine. I think you will find it quite interesting. It is a wonderful piece on life success for students with learning disabilities. It originally appeared on LD online.

Below are the schedule of the postings and the fourth installment:
September 6: introduction
September 21: self-awareness
October 5: proactivity
October 19: perseverance
November 2: goal-setting
November 16: presence and use of support systems
November 30: emotional coping strategies
December 14: conclusion and resources

Success Strategy #3: Perseverance

Many persons with learning disabilities show great perseverance and keep pursuing their chosen path despite difficulties. They often describe themselves in such terms as "I am not a quitter," and "I never give up." However, successful individuals demonstrate an additional important ability -- knowing when to quit. Although they rarely give up on a general goal, depending on the situation, they may change the way they go about achieving it, thereby improving their chances for success. In other words, after repeated failure, these individuals are able to see and pursue alternative strategies for reaching their goal, or know when the goal itself might have to be modified. Often they try several strategies until they find one that works. One successful adult states, "Once I have a failure, I can't just dwell on that failure and restrict myself for the rest of my life. I'll do something else." In contrast, unsuccessful individuals are typically not flexible and often appear to "beat their heads against the wall," failing to recognize when it is time to reevaluate their strategies, or the goal itself.

Successful persons with learning disabilities appear to learn from their hardships making statements such as "I have failed many times, but I am not a failure. I have learned to succeed from my failures." In addition, successful people seem to agree that difficult situations are necessary for learning. In comparison, unsuccessful individuals with learning disabilities are often overwhelmed by adversity, back away from challenges, and give up much more easily and quickly than successful peers.

Perseverance Checklist
My child…
Understands the benefits of perseverance
Keeps working at academic tasks despite difficulties
Keeps working at non-academic tasks despite difficulties
Knows how to deal with obstacles/setbacks
Knows how to adjust to change
Knows when to quit

This success attribute, like all the others, needs to be developed in a number of areas beyond school. Attention has to be given to fostering perseverance in the following areas: educational, cognitive, physical, psychological, employment, social, leisure, and spiritual. With regard to these areas, children with learning disabilities should learn to:

Understand the meaning of perseverance;
Understand the benefits of persevering and the consequences of not;
Develop strategies for dealing with obstacles, setbacks, and adjusting to change;
Recognize that passion and desire keep one moving in the face of adversity.
General activities for fostering perseverance:
Share inspirational stories (tell, read, watch movies) of people who have persevered in the face of adversity.

Have your child share his or her own stories (tell, write, draw) about times when he or she did not persevere and the resulting outcomes.
Have your child keep journals focusing on experiences requiring perseverance.
Have your child keep a record of when he or she is, or is not persevering.
Praise your child for persevering behavior and attitude when playing games, learning new sports, and doing unpopular chores.